Third-rail support.



L. STBINBERGBR. THIRD RAIL SUPPORT.

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THIRD RAIL SUPPORT.

APPLIUATION IILBDDBO.. 7. 1903. I

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i No. 761,553.

No 101m..

f w/TNESSES.' M@ #4MM- UNITED` STATES Latent-,ed May 31, 1904.

PATENT` OFFICE.

LOUIS STEINBERGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

THIRD-RAIL SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. '761,553,11ated May 31', 1904.

Application filed December 7, 190s.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Louis STEINBERGER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in thecounty of Kings and State of New York,

have invented a new and Improved Third-Rail lsulator and the supporting member which normally engages the same. Itis also highly essential that provision be made for allowingthe rail to rock slightly in a lateral directionp and also for allowingvthe rail' to rock slightly .in a plane coincident with its general length.l In other words, it is necessary to provide for a certain amount of flexibility in the rail-seetion, so as to allow the rail-section to adjust itself under varying conditions, thus insuring a more perfect Contact with the trolley-shoe.

Reference is to beA had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciiication,

in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures. 5

Figure 1 is avertical central section through a third rail and support thereforembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan viewof the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the same upon a re-` duced scale and also showing one of the in'sul lator-supports as moved relatively toa rail. Fig. 4-is a section somewhat similar to Fig. 1,-

but showing the rail as tilted in alateral direction. Fig. 5 yis a sectional elevation taken at right angles to the View shown in Fig. 4

and showing the support as rocking in the' general longitudinal direction of the rail, and

l Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation of the means for adjusting the height of the stem 4 of the support.

The cross-ties are shown at 1, and disposed vice.

at intervals thereupon are pedestals 2,*prefserai-mimosa. Numan erably made of metal and secured to the crossties by means of bolts 3. Secured rigidly to each pedestal is a vertical stem 4, provided with a hemispherical end 4 Yand also-with an 1 angular shoulder 5 and thread 6 for securing the stem rigidly upon the pedestal.

An outer shell7 and an inner shell 9, made of metal, are connectedl together by means of a body member 8, of insulating material, disposed therebetween. The inner shell 9 is provided with a thickened portion 1() of the shape shown, which constitutes an anchoring-surface f for engaging the insulating-body 8 and fric-4 tional surface for the stem 4. The shell 7 is provided with a flat face 11 .and with lugs 12, which engage the base 14 of the rail-section 13. Fig. 1 shows the normal position of the de- If, however, the cross-ties movevertically in relation one to another, as indicated iu Fig. 3, so that the insulators shown at the right and the left of the figure are relatively higher than the one kshown in the middle of the figure, the stem 4, normally supporting the middle insulator, is slightly lowered, as shown-at the center of Fig. 3, thus allowing the stern 4 in the center of the iigure to clear itself kfrom the insulator which it normally supports. Practically the same thing occurs if for any reason a portion ofthe rail-section is raised relatively to another portion. Provision is thus made for the raising or lowering of any number of the stems 4 relatively to each other. Suppose now that because of a bad adjustment of the `trolley-shoe or of a swerving of the electrical vehicle it should be necessary for the rail to careen in a lateral direction, the insulator is ymounted so as to allow for this movement.

As will be seen in Fig. 4, the inner shell 9 is free to tilt slightly, thereby allowingthe rail13 to assume the position indicated or to rock in either direction or at anygvangle relatively to the general direction of the rail. In

order to still further increase the mobility of the supporting connection, the inner shell 9 may move or careen slightly in a plane coincident with the general length of the rail, as

indicated in Fig. 5, and of course this movement may take place in either of the two genev eral directions representing the general dimaintain* the rotundity of the surface.

rection of the rail. In short, my insulator, consisting of the outer and inner shells, with a body of insulating material connecting the same together rigidly, presents a connection which allows aslight movement in almost any `direction and which enables the third rail to .other words, the natural wear upon the surface 4 is of the character which tends to The rotund surface of the inner shell being concave and the upper surface of the support or stem 4 being convex enables advantage to be taken of this principle.

By means of the angular portion 5 the stem 4 may be unscrewed from the pedestal 2 and for this purpose is revoluble independently of the rail and of the members immediately engaging the same. By partially unscrewing the stem 4 by means of the angular portion 5 the stem may be raised relatively to the pedestal 2, as indicated more particularly in Fig. 6. The arrangement therefore serves as an adjustment in ease it is desired to virtually lengthen or shorten the stem. For instance, if one of the cross-ties happens to be a little crooked or from any other reason the rail may be a little too high relatively to the pedestal all that is necessary is to partially unscrew the stem 4, thereby virtually lengthening it and causing the device to lit notwithstanding the fact that the pedestal 2 is slightly out of alinement with the other pedestals.

As will be seen from the figures, the thickened portion 10 of the inner shell enables the insulator to resist considerable shocks, due to the pounding of the insulator upon the metal stem 4, and vice versa. As the inner shell 9 is depressed andits upper inner surface is rotund, it follows that the pounding as between the hemispherical portion 4 of the stem and the inner mating surface of the portion l0 fit each other, so as tovlessen the severity of the shocks caused by pounding-that is to say, if the stem 4 suddenly descends and suddenly rises it may not strike quite centrally in the inner shell l() and' may glide, therefore, into position by virtue of the curvature of the hemispherical portion 4, so that the shock upon the insulator and the other mechanism is to some extent broken. It may also be noted that the bottom portion of the insulator is much larger and heavier than the top portion thereof, so that the center of gravity of the insulator as a rule lies below the hemispherical portion 4 of the stem 4. On this account the insulator is held in stable equilibrium, and therefore tends to return to its normal position when slightly displaced in practically any direction.

I do not limit myself to the particular form of stem-pedestal or other mechanism shown. Neither do I limit myself to the general arrangement shown.

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A third-rail support, comprising a member provided with a portion for engaging a rail and with a bearing-surface, and a supporting member provided with a bearing-surface loosely engaging said bearing-surface of Isaid member for the purpose of enabling said member to rock relatively to said supporting member.

2. A third-rail support, comprisinga member provided with a portion to be connected with a rail and with a concave bearing portion, and a member provided with a convex bearing portion engaging said concave bearing portion.

3. A third-rail support, comprising` a member provided with a fiat portion to be connected with a rail, and also provided with a concave portion having a bearing-surface, and a member provided with a convex bearingsurface engaging said concave bearing-surface for the purpose of supporting said first-mentioned member, and also for the purpose of allowing the same to have free movement in divers directionsrelatively thereto.

4. A third-rail support, comprising a memvber provided with a metallic bearing-surface of concave form, and also provided with a portion to be engaged by a rail, and a stem provided with a bearing-surface and with means whereby said stem may be mounted upon a cross-tie.

5. A third-rail support, comprising an outer metallic shell provided with a portion for engaging a rail, a member of insulating material mounted within said outer shell, a metallic member mounted within said body of insulating material and anchored thereto, and a supporting member engaging said last-mentioned metallic member which is free to rock thereupon.

6. Athird-rail support, comprisingan outer shell and an inner shell each provided with anchor-surfaces,a body of insulating material cngaging both of said shells and held firmly thereto by aid of said anchor-surfaces, and a member engaging one of said shells and normally supporting the same, the other of said shells being provided with a surface for engaging the rail.

7. A third-rail support, comprising an ou ter shell and an inner shell each provided with an anchor-surface, a body of insulating material engaging said shells and held firmly thereto by aid of said anchor-surfaces, and a member engaging one of said shells for supporting the same, the other of said shells being provided IOO IIO

with means. whereby it may be rigidly secured to a rail-section.

8. Athird-ifail support, comprising an outer metallic shell provided with a surface Jfor engaging a rail, and an inner metallic shell proa rail and with lugs for securing said rail upon said iiat surface, anda stem for supporting said member, said member being provided with a portion engaging said stemand. fre

to rock relatively thereon.

ber provided with a portion to besecured to a rail, and also provided with an aperture, and

a supporting member engaging said aperture,

said member' being movable in divers directions relatively to said supporting member.

11. Ak third rail support, comprising an outer shell, an inner shell, a body of insulating material disposed intermediate of said-shell and connecting the same together so as to form f a single member, a rail secured to said member, and supporting mechanism provided with a bearing portion engaging said inner shell, and movable relatively thereto. 12. A third-rail support, comprising a ped estal, a stem detachably connected therewith and providedV with a bearing-surface, and a member mounted upon said stem and provided with a surf-ace for loosely engaging the same, so as to allow of relative operative movement therebetween, said member being further provide'd with means whereby it may be secured upon a rail-section. l A y* 13. A third -rail support, comprising an outer shell provided upon its top with a portion for engaging a rail, and also provided internally with an annular bead, a body of insulating material disposed within said outer shell and engaging said-bead, and an innerl shell embedded within said'body of insulating material and provided with a bearing-surface for engaging av support, said bearing-surface being free to move operatively in relation to said support.

1,11. A third-rail support, comprising a vertically-disposed member, and a member loosely mounted thereon and free to careen relatively thereto, said member being Vprovided with c means whereby it may be secured to a railsection.

15. .A third-rail support, comprising a vertically-disposed supporting member provided at its end with a bearing-surface, and a member detachably mounted thereuponv and free to rock at dierent angles thereto, said member being provided with a bearing-surface engaging said bearing-surface of said supportingmember, and further provided with a lsurl means' for engaging a rail-section, said memberbeing free to rockina lateral direction crossing the general length or saidrail-section.

18. A third-rail support,comprisingavertically-supporting member provided at its upc per end with a bearing-surface, anda detach- 10. A third-rail support, comprising a memporting member and free to careen slightly in any direction relatively thereto,said mem'- ber being provided with means for engaging a rail-section. v

19. A third-rail support, comprising a vertically-supporting member providedat its upper end with a rotund bearing-surface, and a hollow member mounted thereupon and proi vided internally with a bearing-surface mating said bearing-surface or' said supporting ineinber, said hollow member being furtherprovided with means for engaging a rail and free to be lifted relatively to said supporting member. 20. A third-rail support, comprising a supporting member provided with a bearing-surface, and a hollow member mounted upon said supporting member and depending therefrom, said hollow'member being provided with IOO means for -engaging a rail-section, and also provided with a bearing-surface engaging the bearing-surfaceof said supporting 'member andy being held upon said supporting member by its'own weight.

f 21.' A third-rail support, comprising an in-l sulating member connected with a rail, and rigid relativelythereto, and a support'disposed below said .insulating material and IIO loosely engagedlthereby so asto allow an operative movement therebetween while in action.

22. A third-rail insulator, comprising an vouter metallic shell and a separate inner metallic shell, a body of insulating material disposed between said shells, anda supporting mechanism provided with a bearing portion detachably engaging said 'inner shell and allowing the same to rock thereupon. f

23. A third-rail support, comprising a pedestal, a stein detachably connected therewith and provided with a bearing-surface, and a member adapted for mounting upon said stem and proyided with a bearing-surface for en-r gaging the same, said member being free to rock upon said stein in any direction and provided with means-whereby it may be secured.

upon a rail-section.

24. A rail-support, comprising a vertical member, and amember loosely mounted thereon and free to careen relatively thereto, said last-mentioned member having its center of gravity below the point of support and being provided with a surface for engaging a rail.

25. A rail-support, comprising a stem, a member mounted thereon and depending from the top thereof, the center of gravity of said member being disposed below the point of support for the purpose of supporting said member in stable equilibrium, and means for connecting a rail with said member.

26. A rail-support, comprising a supporting member, and a member loosely mounted thereon and provided with a portion for engaging a rail, said last-mentioned member and said supporting member being provided with mating bearing-surfaces of such conformity as to break the shock due to pounding of said rail relatively to said supporting member.

27. A third-rail support, comprising a supporting member, and a member connected therewith and free to careen relatively thereto, said last-mentioned member being provided with means for connecting the same with a rai l-section.

28. A third-rail support, comprising a supporting member, and a member to be connected with a rail, said members being provided with blow-resisting surfaces in contact with each other.`

29. A third-rail support, comprisingasup-- 3l.u A rail-support, comprising a supporting member for engaging a rail, a stem engaging said supporting member, and adjustable relatively thereto when said supporting member is in operative position relatively to said rail and a base engaging said stem.

32. A rail-support, comprising a base, a stem connected therewith and adjustable relatively thereto when in operative position relatively to the rail, mechanism engaging said stem for the purpose of supporting a rail, and means for insulating said mechanism.

33. A rail-support, comprising a supporting member provided with a base, and a member provided with means for engaging a rail, said last-mentioned member being movable relatively to said supporting member and normally resting thereupon in stable equilibrium.

34. A rail-support, comprising a metallic casing provided with means for supportinga rail, insulating material mounted within said 4casing, a metallic member engaging said insulating material, and a supporting member adjustable relatively to said metallic member when the same is in operative position relatively to the rail.

35. A rail-support, comprising a hollow member provided with means for engaginga rail, and a supporting member loosely engaging said hollow member for sustaining the same in stable equilibrium.

36. A rail-support, comprising a member for supporting a rail, a base portion, and a supporting member connected with said base portion and adjustable relatively to both said member and said base portion when all or' said parts are in operative position relatively to the rail.

In testimony whereof I have signed 1n y name to this speeilication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS STEINBERGER. Witnesses:

J No. M. RITTER, WAL'roN HARRISON. 

